How do you support evangelists, when you don't believe in evangelism?

A friend of mine, who is passionate about bringing the human spirit into business (something near and dear to my heart), cringed when I talked about how he could support his evangelists–people who believe in his ideas and want to help spread them.

His reaction? "Carol, I'm the anti-thesis of evangelism. I'm not about the super mega church. I'm the guy trying to shut the doors and telling them to go home."

My friend has the baggage of evangelism in the context of formal religions. He's a former monk.

Evangelists, in the context of A Bigger Voice, are those 1,000 True Fans, the ones who naturally resonate with your wisdom and ideas, and want to help spread it to others. They don't do it to build the mega church. They do it because it feels right to them, independent of the outcome. Evangelists form the core of your community. They are the 20% that contribute 80% of the ideas to shape what you've started. In the process, you might just create a mega church. But it's not your mega church. It's their mega church.

In the Networking Naturally Program that I just finished up, my evangelists are the people who showed up on a call to brainstorm improvements for the program, the ones who took the time to fill out and return a self-assessment of their networking skills both before and after the program, and the individuals who thought enough to provide comments on the participant-only blog. These are the people who are delighted to write a testimonial about their experience and who are pleased when they can contribute in areas where they have talent and expertise. The more that I reach out to my evangelists on networking naturally, the more I get excited. I can feel the momentum building. 

How am I supporting my evangelists?

• I try to connect with each person, one-on-one, whether it's with a phone call or an exchange of comments on a blog.
• I get to know each person as a unique individual, not just as someone who resonates with my cause.
• I ask each how I can support him/her.
• I provide each with material so that he/she can more easily share our common passion. In this particular case, I'm providing a set of slides that illustrate the 14 "Principles of Networking Naturally."

What are you doing to support your evangelists? How is it helping to build your community?

Photo by dheuer